Retractable safety barrier



United States Patent Kenneth W. Rowe Trevose, Pennsylvania 737,599

June 17, 1968 Oct. 6, 1970 The Budd Company Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a corporation of Pennsylvania Inventor App]. No. Filed Patented Assignee RETRACTABLE SAFETY BARRIER 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl... 105/439 Int. Cl B6lk 13/04, B6 1 d 49/00 Field of Search 104/83; 105/43 9442 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1899 Roach 105/439 FORElGN PATENTS 40,961 11/1913 Sweden 105/439 165,076 7/1904 Germany 105/439 436,897 2/1912 France 105/439 Primary Examiner-Drayton E. Hoffman Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorneys-Thomas l. Davenport, Edward M. Farrell, Alford L. Trueax..lr..and William R. Nolte ABSTRACT: An apparatus for providing a safety barrier for the platforms of coupled vehicles to prevent entrance at station platform level and to provide protection for persons moving between cars while the train is in motion. Cables looped through stationary and floating pulleys remain under tension at all times even though the train is following a curve in the track.

Patented Oct. 6, 1970 Sheet 1 of 2 Fig.3

INVENTORQ KENNETH w. ROWE am/2. ma;

AGENT Patented Oct. 6, 1970 3,532,063

Sheet g of 2 RETRACTABLE SAFETY BARRIER One type of safety barrier apparatus which has been previously used for such purpose has employed a chain of fixed length with movable spring means. This construction has been applied to cars having vertical ends. As the train advances around a curve the chains on one side of the platform become taut resulting in stretching of the spring while the other chain on the opposite side incurs a slack. This construction is inherently dangerous. A passenger could possibly grasp the spring in its stretched state and upon the train approaching a straight part of the track the spring would retract to injure his hand. A further disadvantage of such construction is that its use for slant ended cars is not feasible because of the amount of stretch required. The increase in length of chain required for slant ended cars travelling a curve exceeds the unstretched length of the chains while the cars are travelling along straight track. More specifically, the lines or chains on the outside of the curve would be extended a great amount while conversely the lines on the inside of the curve would acquire such an amount of slack as to touch the platform floor of the car, thereby negating their usefulness as a safety barrier.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide an improved safety barrier apparatus which avoids one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art arrangements and which has an improved usefulness for slant nosed cars.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved safety barrier apparatus which will remain under tension at all times regardless of the axial position of the coupled cars as the same are accommodating a curve on the track.

In accordance with the invention, the retractable safety barrier apparatus is applicable for a walkway between the platform ends of a pair of slant nosed vehicles which are coupled together. The apparatus comprises cable means having one end portion affixed to the slant end ofa vehicle of the pair and the other end thereof extends beyond and parallel to the walkway. The intermediate portion of the cable is looped through stationary pulley means and floating pulley means. Spring means attached at their inner ends to the floating pulley means and at their outer ends to structure of the vehicle operate to produce tension in the cable means at all times. Thus depending upon the positions which the coupled cars assume in passing around a curve, the cable means are either retracted by the pulley means or are enabled to be extended outwardly from the car.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with the other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsand its scope will be pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a view in elevation showing two slant ended cars coupled together and embodying the safety barrier apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing an end elevation ofone of the cars;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the manner of mounting the pulleys;

FIG. 4 is a vertical elevational view of the front end of a vehicle partially in section showing an alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 4.

The invention is particularly valuable in connection with rapid transit systems in which the platforms of the railway vehicles are on a level with boarding platforms from which the passengers enter the vehicles. The present invention guards against passengers entering the cars at the platform ends.

With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2 a pair of railway passenger vehicles and 11 are coupled together in the ordinary manner and in the present instance are used in rapid transit service wherein multiple units of cars are coupled together. Each of the cars includes a floor frame portion 13. a roof portion 14, and a sloping end surface portion 15. The sloping end surfaces of the two cars diverge from the horizontal and are closer together at floor level than at their upper ends adjacent the roof. Each car 10, 11 is shown with an end platform 16 extending outwardly from the slant ends of the cars. Suitable framing for the ends of the cars include upright outer post channel members 17 which extend from the floor to the roof at the ends of the cars.

In accordance with the present invention, safety barrier apparatus in the form of a plurality of generally like safety barrier means 19, 20 and 21 located adjacent the outer end posts 17 of one car extend upwardly in spaced relation from the platform and join like safety barrier means of an adjacent can Since the safety barrier means 19, 20, 21 are similar, but for location, it will he understood that the description of safety barrier means 19 will be applicable for 20 and 21, except for minor details.

Still referring to FIG. 1 it is seen that safety barrier means 19 includes a cable 25 having one end portion 26 with a quick disconnect means 27 at its extremity extending over the platform 16. Stationary pulley means 28 which may be double sheaved as shown are mounted to fixed structure of the vehicle along the inside web of the channel comer post 17 as by U- shaped bracket 29. A floating pulley 30 also double sheaved and secured by means of bracket 31 is fastened to the inside end of tension coil spring means 33. The outside end of the spring is secured to fixed structure in the form of upstanding side post 34. The intermediate portion 35 of the cable 25, FIG. 3 is looped through stationary pulley 28 and then through the floating take-up pulley 30. The inner extremity of the cable 36 is fixed against movement by being secured to post 17 as at 37. The nose skin surface of end 15 of the vehicles and the end post 17 are apertured as at 39, and 40 respectively to permit travel of the outside end 26 of the cable. When the quick disconnect elements 27 are uncoupled from those of an adjacent car, the cable will be retracted to the apertures 39, 40. The quick disconnect elements 27 will be arrested by the marginal surfaces defining the apertures 39 and when so retracted only'a slight tension will exist in the cable. V

The aforementioned cable barrier means 20 are shown disposed in a substantially horizontal attitude, similar to 19.

However, because of space limitations the cable barrier means 21 are disposed in an upright position with the upper end of spring 33 affixed to transverse roof member 43. From the foregoing description it is seen that the cable and pulley systems 19, 20, 21 are used to reduce fairly long requirements for movement of the cable ends 26 into short movements of the springs 33.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5 an alternate form of the invention is shown. In this arrangement a plurality of stationary pulley means 47, 48 including pulley sheaves 49, 50 are journaled for rotation in U-shaped brackets 51, 52 respectively which are suitably secured to an upstanding web of end post 17. The pulley sheaves 49, 50 may be plural grooved as shown. A floating pulley 53 is mounted for rotation in bracket 54 which in turn is connected to the inner end of tension spring 56. The opposite end of the spring is anchored to upright post 34 as at 57. A single length of cable 58 includes opposite end portions 59, 60 with quick disconnect element 61 secured to their outer extremities. The end portions 59, 60 are disposed in vertically spaced relationship above the platform. The intermediate portion of the cable 58 loops the upper and lower stationary pulleys 49, 51 and the floating pulley means 53. The desired tension in the cable 58 is governed by the characteristics of spring 56. In the construction shown the cable 58 will remain under tension at all times regardless of the axial alignment of the two cars 10 and 11.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be the preferred embodiments of this invention, it

will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Retractable and expansible safety barrier apparatus for the ends of a pair of adjacent coupled railway vehicles adapted to change angular position one with respect to the other, cable means having first and second lengths thereof, fixed pulley means mounted to the end of one of said adjacent cars, floating pulley means, spring means mounting said floating pulley means to said one of said cars for in-line movement relative to said fixed pulley means, said first length of cable extending between said fixed pulley means in a direction toward the other adjacent car of said pair, said second length of said cable means encircling said fixed pulley means and said floating pulley means and exceeding in length the first portion of said cable means in the non-angular position of said pair of adjacent cars, and upon relative angular movement between said pair of cars in a first direction, said floating pulley under the stretching action of said spring means enables said floating pulley means to move toward said fixed pulley means and to play out a portion of the length of said second cable means beyond said fixed pulley means and toward said other adjacent car, and upon relative angular movement of said pair of cars in an opposite direction said floating pulley means is pulled away from said fixed pulley means under the retractive force of said spring means and a portion of said first length of cable means is retracted between said fixed pulley and said floating pulley means. 

